The blinker issue: I traced all the wires looking for damage and they were actually ok. Took the glove box out/off and found the flasher relay near the ashtray - twisted up and half plugged in. Pretty sure the flasher had been replaced (the "made in mexico" stamped on it gave it away).
Cleaned off the pins, mated and de-mated a couple of times and voila! All lights back to normal operating status.